The photobook Brusselse scènes, Bruxelles en scène

76 photos, 6 urban stories and 19 anecdotes 'bruxelloises'.

"The city sometimes seems staged, but it is eminently the stage on which
life plays out. Life in all its variations, with a surprise every now and then." Laurent Vermeersch
"My job is located in the defined by provincial boundaries Brussels. I
take the city home with me every day. I gently massage it between the
cracks of the houses in my neighbourhood or ram it down the throat of
a community that would rather go without it. And all that without any
state reform, to the rhythm of my heartbeat." Eva De Baerdemaker
"At 50 degrees North and 4 degrees East there lies a city that follows its
own path. Those who listen closely to its heartbeat will find their way to
the stairs of change." Jan Busselen

Once upon a time, a mill languished
somewhere in the fields of
Henegouwen. In the 1960’s, the
municipality of Sint-Lambrechts-
Woluwe received the thing as a
gift. The Woluwe valley had always
been famous for its watermills, but
windmills? Coincidentally, the lack of
wind just happened to be the greatest
disadvantage to the region.

The mill
waits patiently for its Godot. Just like
in the play, Godot will never come.

"I am not from around here, but if I am honest, I’m not from around there
any more either. There where things are proper. Where people keep their
promises. Where the hedges are trimmed to perfection. Where things
are moving forward. Where everyone speaks the same language (but
still don’t always understand one another)." Tine Debosscher
"Brussels, my faithful partner, my beloved home, my city... Under your often grey skies an infectious happiness conjures bright,
many-coloured rainbows on the walls. Brussels, you have adopted me, and for the rest of my days, you will be the only place that I call home." Hamsi Boubeker
"To me, it’s strange that many ‘Eurobubble
expats’ never stray too far away European quarter, or how many French
and Dutch-speaking Belgians do not stray far beyond ‘their’ parts of
town. I regularly hear disparaging talk about working-class areas such 13
as Matongé, Molenbeek and Anderlecht – often by people who haven’t
even been there." Barbara Mendes Jorge

Anecdote N°15

Every year on 9 August, a ‘Meyboom’
tree is planted in Brussels. It is folklore
par excellence: men, women and
children in traditional dress, the
Brussels dialect is the main language
spoken and the tree is the guest of
honour. As is tradition, each successful
planting is celebrated with a
circle dance.

All that enthusiasm was
infectious for Howard Gutman, the
then the United States ambassador.
He spontaneously decided to join the
dance. The security staff had a minor
nervous breakdown, their finger
pressing even harder into their ear as
they spoke even more agitatedly into
their sleeve.

To keep an eye on their
boss they, rather unhappily, took part
in the folk event.